Well, we are really getting the use out of my little birthday present---the piano!  Nathan is a sponge when it comes to learning music and as soon as I teach him a new song, he practices  and practices until he has it perfectly, then he says, "o.k, mom, I've got that one, will you teach me a new song?"  Today, I was tending to the baby, when Nathan came in and said, "I learned how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all on my own!"  I didn't show him a single note, he completely learned how to play it by ear!  After I told him that we had to stop playing the piano while the baby slept, he started playing their little piano in the room, and he came in and declared, "I can even play it with my toes, Mom!"  Wow!  Can you believe the talent!?! 

Luke has also learned a basic song and is VERY proud of himself.  He plays it nonstop and always seems to think of playing it whenever Nathan is already playing!  He is a two-year-old, for sure!  It wasn't until we had Brennan that I realized how LOUD Luke is.....and it is usually at Brennan's nap time that he's the loudest (or maybe I just notice it more since I'm aware of noise more during this time).  You would never think that the third child would be noise sensitive, but Brennan definitely is!  Luke has awakened him more times than I can count. 

We started "Mary on Horseback by Rosemary Wells, and I'm debating over whether I should continue it or not.  It is quite a bit over his level and discussing a time period that he can't comprehend at his age.  It is on the Sonlight Curriculum for K-read alouds.  But, it may be one that I should wait until next year to read. 

Boy, it seems like Brennan was just born, and now he is starting to drool and teethe.  I'm not ready for the teething months ahead!  I don't see any little teethies yet, but I'm sure within the next month!  Luke got his first tooth just shy of 6 months old, while Nathan was a little older (I think it was around 8 months).  We also got him a new exersaucer on Saturday and he is slowly getting used to it.....he would still much rather be held.  He is getting to where he tries to sit upright when I put him in his bouncy seat, instead of reclining with the seat.  Nathan and Luke both sat at exactly 6 months old and it looks Like Brennan will be right on cue. 

Nathan is doing fabulously with his reading.  I am doing my own curriculum with him (I taught first grade before we had kids, so I have a little background knowledge for teaching reading).  He now knows close to 50 sight words (and, the, he, she, with, go, etc) and this helps with the ease of reading....he doesn't have to stop at every word and sound it out.  I try to find passages with as many of these sight words as possible.  He is also very good at blending small words to sound them out, but he tends to be kind of lazy when he sees a word he doesn't know, he sometimes just guesses instead of stopping to sound it out.  I have to frequently remind him.  We also are beginning the book "The Apple and the Arrow" tomorrow, so hopefully he will enjoy that one as much as he did the last two chapter book read alouds.

Luke knows all of his letters and sounds, but has a very hard time with deciding which words start with which letter.  For example, If there is a picture of a cake, a dog, and a monkey, and I ask him which one starts with the "mmmmm" sound, he won't know.  I ask him "does cake start with the "mmmm" sound" and he says "yes"  So, maybe that will just come with time.  I'm not pressuring him too hard.  He IS only just shy of 3. 

On another note, Florida weather is kind of depressing......still hot and humid.....I'm jealous when everyone starts talking about the beautiful fall foilage.  I'm a Florida native, so I guess I should be used to it by now.....

Today was one crazy day!  It was suppose to be Nathan's SHARE homeschooling COOP class this morning, but his teacher called at 7 a.m. and said she was too sick to teach today, which ended up being a good thing because shortly after she called, the skies let loose and we had one of the biggest thunderstorms that we've had in a long time!  After a few hours, it cleared up and we headed to the library, but not before we realized that we had left one of our library books (which were due today) in DH truck, so we swung by his work to pick that up and then headed to the library.  Brennan was not very happy that I had taken him out when he would rather be sleeping, so he didn't let me accomplish much.  I was pretty much throwing books into our bag.  Luke just about fell asleep on the way home from the library, but I kept prodding him awake so that we could eat lunch when we got home (this later proved to be a mistake!).  When it was finally nap time, it took Luke 1 1/2 to fall asleep!  He is not even quite 3 years old yet and he is already showing signs of not needing a nap!  I'm not ready for that yet!  He takes forever to fall asleep at nap time and if he does get a nap, he doesn't fall asleep until close to 10 in the evening.  Doesn't 3yo sound too young to be skipping naps?  When he doesn't get a nap, he is so cranky by dinner time and we never have a pleasant evening.  But, it is really getting ridiculous spending 1 1/2 hours trying to get him to fall asleep at nap time! 

On another note, in the midst of our chaotic day, I brought Brennan out on the porch swing and we listened to it rain and he just was making the sweetest sound I've ever heard!  It was almost like he was trying to sing.  What an angel he is!  As I sat listening to the soft rain, and the soft voice of my little Brennan, I reflected on how amazingly awesome our God is and how gracious he is with His gifts!  I need more of those quiet moments....they don't come very often, but when they do, God always is ready to speak to my heart!

Well, we are sick.....again!  I shouldn't complain, because God has really blessed us with great health, and it is rare for us to get sick, but it just happened so quickly after our last bout of sickness.  I was the first with the cold this time, and I must say, it is pretty uncomfortable and exhausting, but my goodness!, it isn't quite as bad as my 4yo makes it out to be!  He is SO dramatic about sicknesses and always has a LOOOONG recovery from even a minor cold (can you tell he will be a typical man, already!) 

Our pediatrician informed me at Brennan's 4 mo. appt. that breastfed babies rarely get what their mother's have because they are fed the antibodies in the breastmilk.  Well, guess who the second one to get the cold was?  I'm thinking maybe his immune system was down from all the infections they injected into his little body in the shots.  (I HATE shot time!)

On a funner note (if that's a word?), we have had fun with our piano, and Nate has already learned two short starter songs that he is VERY proud of.....(30 minutes worth of playing them over and over and over again proud!)  I truly hope that he keeps this enthusiasm for years to come!  Piano is something I don't want to force on the boys, but I really hope they come to enjoy! 

I am doing a "Me and My Family" book with Nate (I wish I could insert a picture right here) and each day I am letting him draw a picture of a given item or topic and letting him write a sentence about it.  For example, one day he wrote, "This is my family" and illustrated, one day was "My Favorite food is....(and he filled in...waffles and strawberries and cake) and then he illustrated.  Well, today's topic was "My favorite season is....(and he filled in Fall)"   Then, when the book is complete, I will laminate it and it will be a big book all about him at 4 1/2.  Not only will it be a cool keepsake to look back on years from now, but for now it will be a book that he will be able to read.  He loves the illustration part too!

It seems like I just got over being sick, and here we go again!  I would much rather it be me than the kiddos, though. 

Well, today was pretty successful despite illness.  This morning, we conquered the letter Y during our together time.  I cut out big yellow letter Y's and let them glue pieces of yellow yarn all over the Y's.  We practiced a yo-yo---we have the preschool-style yo-yos---the kind that automatically come back up when you toss it down.  We looked up "yaks" on the computer and learned a little about them.  We played in the "yard", and found the yolk of an egg.  We did the Yy on www.starfall.com  if you haven't been to that site, it is a cool resource.  It has letter sound activities as well as beginning reading activities for my preschooler. 

During the afternoon, I worked with Nate on the _at word family.  We made an alligator with an open mouth and then made a circle and wrote _at words on it.  Then, we bradded the circle to the back of the alligator, where the words would show up one at a time in the alligators open mouth.  As he read the words, the alligator "ate" them.  He loved that.  We also read chapters 9-10 in The Wizard of Oz.  He is really loving these chapter books.  I am a little surprised that that book is on the Sonlight curriculum list for kindergarten read alouds.  I don't know at what level they should be before they start learning about evil things (like witches), but most of these books seem to be good vs. evil type books.  We have read to him about the snake in the garden of eden (satan), and explained about how he is evil and turned away from God and convinced Eve to do the wrong thing too.  I want to shelter him from knowing about these evil things, but I also want him to learn a healthy perception of good vs. evil. 

I got a piano today, for my birthday, so I am excited about that.  My dream has always been to play the piano.  So, maybe as the kids get a little older, we can tackle this together.  I would love to take lessons one day.  But, for now, the boys have had a blast playing their own made up songs.  We will get many years of enjoyment out of this piano! 

Some days I feel like I accomplish enough, but those days are few and far between.  Most days, like today, end with that feeling like you end up with more to do than you started with.  If I wasn't such a control-freak, I may be able to let the housework go without worrying so much about it, but I still have it lingering over my thought process at all times.  I guess I should surrender to the fact that our house is going to be a mess sometimes!  (or really most of the time, lately!)  When will rest come?!?  I "thought" myself to sleep last night---if that makes any sense?  I thought and thought until I don't remember thinking anymore and I don't remember much of the night until Brennan woke up to eat at 4:15 this morning. Usually I'm in and out of sleep and hear any noise, but not last night!  I had forgotten how exhausting having an infant can be! 

Well, if you wondered how we could possibly squeeze anything else from the letter W, here goes:

Today, we 1)had a wet water day--the boys played in the sprinkler and just had fun with water. 2)ate watermelon for snack, wiggly gummy worms with our worm song, and waffles for breakfast! 3)made a wig-wam out of pinestraw--it turned out pretty good.  We did it in the sand, but I would recommend using playdough to stick the ends it.  The boys got frustrated that the ends of the straw kept popping out of the sand. 4) Played the "wind game"--using a cotton ball for the clouds and a straw, we blew the "clouds" across the table. The boys LOVED this and actually played for more than 30 minutes (who would believe blowing cotton across a table with a straw could be so entertaining?) 5)I also taught them how to weave (paper strips through slits in a sheet of paper.)  Sorry I haven't taken the time to figure out how to post pictures. 

......That is the new chapter book I have been reading aloud to Nathan.  He, of course, is completely into it and always wants me to read "just one more chapter!"  And I, of course, LOVE reading to him and if he would sit still long enough, would read all day long!  This version is by Baum and is for younger readers.  There is an occasional picture (black and white), but I have been so surprised at how much he has enjoyed these read alouds! 

We also conquered W-day with Luke.  We will finish up a few activities tomorrow that we didn't get to today.  However, we had fun with W today!  After our story about the washing machine making the "w.w.w.w" sound when it washed the clothes, Luke helped me wash clothes and we listened to the sound of the washing machine.  Then, we washed windows, pulled weeds and put them in the wheelbarrow.  We went on a wagon ride, got wet, went on a walk, wore a watch, and looked up "weasels" and "wig-wams" on the computer.  The boys always enjoy looking things up on computer and it teaches them to use the computer for that purpose and also teaches them about some new cool things.  We had always sang the song "All Around the Mulberry Bush", but Luke never new what a weasel was until we looked it up and learned about them.  Nathan loves building, so he thought the idea of a wig-wam was pretty cool.  I was going to see if we could build one, but all we have here is pine straw.......maybe that would work....i don't know.  Maybe we'll try that tomorrow.  It was a fun day, none-the-less, and Luke definitely knows what the "W" says now! 

Well, another weekend is gone and a new week begins!  We spent pretty much all weekend at birthday parties.  We even had one this afternoon (yuck).  I really needed this day to "rest" and relax and just stay home, but Nate was really looking forward to attending a party at our local Pump It Up.  So, off we went and I dragged Brennan (my almost 4 month old) too.  He was not too thrilled with the action there and wanted desperately to sleep--amongst chaos!.  Next Sunday, I vow to rest!  It has been so heavy on my heart to work harder at resting (is that an oxymoron?) on Sundays.  "Observe the Sabbath Day and keep it Holy" is one of the commandments just like "Thou shalt not steal" isn't it???  It is easy to keep from taking things from others, but why is it SO hard to simply REST just one day!?!

Nathan had his Unit Studies class at the local homeschooling coop Friday and he says he enjoyed it.  I really want him to meet new friends and be around others his age.  He is a people-person and needs that interaction right now in his life- But, getting there is SO hard!  It is hard to dress a 2 and 4 year old and drag a 4 month old out at nap time, plus look half-way decent myself!  I really thought I would be one of those people who could pull things together easier and always be on time, despite having kids...WRONG!

Our preacher is doing a series on "Community" and he talks about how our society is very impersonal and most of us don't even know our neighbor's names.  He challenged us to introduce ourselves to any neighbors that we have never met and try to form more relationships with people.  I was thinking about Nathan the whole time and how he doesn't know a stranger.  He is so personable.  He is so innocent!  I want to teach my children to be personable, but also be cautious in this crazy world.  I don't want him to lose his innocence, but when do you inform them about the dangers that lurk around?  This thought has been in the back of my mind all day. ....

Well, I survived the day, that's the good news!  I didn't get to go to the curriculum fair last night, but I did find out about a local coop for preschoolers that I'm excited about.  I ended up with this nasty chest/head cold and all I've wanted to do all day is just curl up and go to bed, but none the less, I have carried on with my duties and even got most of my goals accomplished for the day. 

I selected several Kindergarten read alouds from the Sonlight curriculum, and I must say, I was a little skeptical about whether or not Nathan would be able to sit still long enough to concentrate on a book with no pictures (or at least very few pictures).  He is a sponge, but he can not sit still for 5 minutes.  Anyways, I began reading "My Father's Dragon" from the Sonlight list and he immediately became absorbed in it!  I had planned on reading a chapter a day, but at the end of each chapter, he begged for me to read on so that he could find out what happened next.  There were 12 or so chapters, but it only took us 3 days to read it.  He was also able to retell the story to DH!  The next one I'm going to attempt is "The Wizard of Oz" by Baum (children's version). 

I also made the mistake of buying the boys a bike lock (where you turn the numbers to make the code number which opens the lock), and that is all they wanted to do all day is "tie" things together with that lock and twist the numbers to make the "secret number" that opens and closes it!  I guess, for $1.95, that was a good occupier, but I ended up having to put it up several times just so they would listen to my activitiy plans.  I guess it does have a few skill-building qualities, but come on, how can they come up with that many things to do with a bike lock to play with it all day long?!?  They are definitely boys!!!

When I was pregnant with my firstborn, my hair got so thick and healthy, in fact, the thickest I think my hair has ever been.  When he was around 3 months old, I lost all the thickness as my hair came out in clumps!  During my second pregnancy, my hair never got thick and full, yet when he was three months old, I still lost clumps!  So, going into this 3rd pregnancy, I knew I was doomed come 3 months post-partum.  Again, I didn't gain the thickness during the pregnancy and here I am loosing my hair by the handful!   I will be so happy if I have any hair left by the time my baby is 6 months old!  I don't remember how long the hair-loss lasted after my last two children, but I am really hoping this ends soon!  Maybe if I stop thinking and worrying about it all the time, it will stop falling out?!?

In other thoughts, I can't stop eating craisins!  You know, those sweetend, dried cranberries....they are like candy to me and I can literally eat a whole bag in one day if I let myself.  I love them with almonds by the handful! ....and I'm not even pregnant!  Well, at least I'm 98% sure I'm not....I've stopped saying 100% since our last two surprises! 

Tomorrow is the first day of our "official" homeschooling.  Although it is just preschool, I am making it casual, yet beginning all documentation tomorrow.  I am going to kind of play it by ear, but I thick I will just do 3 days a week.  I still want him to have time to be a 4 year old, too!  I am going to a local used curriculum sale tomorrow night with my DH, and I am mainly looking for a math curriculum (I'm leaning toward Math U See), but I'd like to flip through several different ones to compare.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Wow!  Just 6 months ago, I had no idea what "blogging" was, until I read about it in The Old Schoolhouse homeschooling magazine.  I read a few of the bloggers sites and LOVED the information and ideas they gave.  It also helped me feel a little more relaxed to see that other people's homes were as imperfect as ours.  Now, here I am a blogger myself!  I truely hope that someone learns something from my site the way I have learned things from other bloggers!  I also am looking forward, in this busy life, to have a "diary" of sorts to show our homeschooling progress.  It will be neat to look back over the year and see how we've grown! 

Anyways, now for an introduction.  As you can probably guess from my site title, we have three precious boys.  They are 4 1/2, 2 1/2, and 3 months!  I am beginning preschool with my oldest son, and I am also always teaching all three through everyday life.  It has been such a complete joy to have sons, because I came from a family of four girls.  I didn't grow up around boys at all (I even had almost all girl cousins), so raising boys is very educational!  They are definitely different from girls!  We have a blast here at our house and we are always learning!  I have a degree in elementary education, so I guess the teacher in me can't wait to get started teaching my boys about God, about love, about life!  Let's get started!